Strictly Taboo
by Penstorm
Summary: "Can we go back a second? Why would we be dancing to Witchcraft?" "'Cause it's our song." "Since when?" "Since we sang it at the karaoke bar in the Hamptons last summer." -Rick & Kate, episode 6x17, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". I own neither Castle nor Sinatra's song.


**Strictly Taboo**

Castle's hand rested on her bare knee, wandering higher and higher, albeit slowly and subtly. She abruptly crossed her legs, sliding her skin away from his sensual touch. The man smiled knowingly, aware of exactly what tribulations he was putting her through, how torn she was between relieving the aroused strumming of her heartbeat and acting according to proper social etiquette. He persisted in his teasing, relocating his hand to the small of her back. Kate shot him a glare, her lips pursing over the rim of her margarita glass.

"Castle." she warned, raising her brows in objection to his actions.

She was trying to come off as stern, she really was, but she found it increasingly difficult for her to maintain such an expression, especially since she was experiencing such an overwhelming desire to allow her inhibitions to completely vanish.

"Right. Sorry." he conceded, retracting his hand and proceeding to reach for his drink. He tantalizingly lifted the rim to his mouth, breaking out in a grin. "I know how easily you lose control."

Kate swallowed hard, setting her glass back down on the table. "Really?" she challenged, shifting slightly in her seat as she turned to face him. Her eyes bore into his.

"It's the truth." he said with a passive shrug, taking a swig of the glass nestled in his hand.

"Oh, yeah? How do you figure, Castle?" Kate retorted, cocking her head and studying him, unwilling to relent in her efforts to gain the upper hand in their current session of banter.

Castle leaned back in his chair, gazing smugly at her. "Don't you recall the events of last night? Or is it all just a haze for you?" He twitched his brows to emphasize his point. "'Cause it certainly isn't for me."

Kate narrowed her eyes, though he was, in this particular instance, accurate in his observations. She _had_ been somewhat eager the night before, to say the least. But, then again, a quiet walk along the shore, hand in hand with Castle, followed up by a youthful frolic through the waves, brought out heaps of passion between the two of them. It had been a race to the shower afterward, both of them desiring much, much more than to simply wash away the seawater and sand clinging to their bodies.

* * *

"_I thought you said you were going to wear a speedo, Castle." Kate teased, regarding her partner fondly as he scampered over to the shoreline._

_Castle turned, gesturing to his form. "I didn't think you could handle this," he claimed saucily, "in that kind of get-up." _

_With a roll of her eyes, Kate approached, shuffling her feet into the water—cold, as she had expected. The sand squished between her toes as she took one step further. _

_Castle, meanwhile, went scampering into the ocean like a little boy, diving and splashing. He submerged for a moment before coming up sputtering, slapping a hand over his head and pushing back his hair. _

"_You coming in or what?" he questioned, looking her up and down._

_Kate hesitated. "I...well..."_

"_Come on. A little water never hurt anybody." he mentioned, outstretching his arms, inviting her to join him. "Hey, I didn't think a tough-as-nails cop like you would be scared of a little water." _

"Scared?" _Kate snorted, taking a step into the water and instantly regretting it. Ankle-deep felt far enough for her._

"_Well?" Castle said impatiently._

_"You know, Castle, maybe you should get out of there. You don't wanna be shy later on, you know." Kate hinted coyly, smirking as her love donned a sheepish expression._

_The detective soon learned that a bikini, no matter how much her boyfriend approved of it, was _not _the proper type of suit to wear in the mildly brisk Atlantic._

_Plus, it was far too easy for him to pluck off of her..._

* * *

Castle smiled fondly at Kate, whose countenance had begun to show evident signs of the memories flooding back to her. The slight flush in her cheeks was a clear indication—faint, but still there. Her eyes softened lovingly as their gazes met, sliding a hand in his direction and grasping his, lacing their fingers together.

He could do things to her that she couldn't begin to fathom, both physically and emotionally. And now, even in the midst of the clamor of the bar, she felt as if it were just the two of them. Once they returned to the house, she would prove to him just how much she could recall, and that was nearly every second of the previous night's activities.

Castle suddenly glanced away, directing his gaze elsewhere, and Kate followed his lead. He had glued his eyes attentively to the stage, which now lay unoccupied as the last volunteer singer vacated the space under the spotlight. She offered him an incredulous stare, as if she were already forming a premonition of what he had in mind.

Castle glanced back at her before rising to his feet with a purpose. He turned to pull her up out of her seat and into his arms, as well.

"Castle, I know what you're thinking, and...no. My answer is no." Kate resolved firmly, attempting to squirm out of his clutches.

"Come on, please?" her partner whined with a pout, his lower lip protruding—very childish, but very much like him.

He could already tell that he _would _get his way. After all, Kate was left utterly helpless to resist him when he sent that trademark look of his her way.

But, he was willing to bargain. "Look, do this for me, and I promise you—give you my word—that I will do _anything _you want in return."

Kate quirked a brow, a coy smile flashing upon her face. So many possibilities crossed her mind—all of them extremely appealing to her.

Well, she supposed one song wouldn't hurt—just _one. _

Kate gave a sigh, nodding with much reluctance. Castle giddily took her by the hand, and she was defenseless to hold back a giggle at his eagerness. She soon found herself under a fluorescent batch of spotlights, and she blinked several times as her eyes adjusted. Her partner all at once tossed her a microphone, which she barely managed to catch in time.

"You know Sinatra?" Castle asked, turning and offering her a smirk.

"Do _I _know _Sinatra?" _Kate scoffed with a snort.

In an instant, Castle began to approach her, and she took a step back at his sudden, frisky advances. The sweet sound of woodwinds and strings began to fill the air as the song came to life around them.

"Those fingers in my hair, that sly, come-hither stare, that strips my conscience bare, it's witchcraft..." Castle crooned, offering her an expectant gaze, as if he were certain she would lose the nerve.

Nope, not this time.

Kate joined in, hesitant at first. "A-and I've got no defense for it. The heat is too intense for it. What good would common sense for it do?"

"'Cause it's witchcraft," he sang, lifting a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, "wicked witchcraft, and although I know it's strictly taboo..."

Kate instinctively inched towards his touch, her heart beginning to thump away inside of her chest. "When you arouse the need in me," she chimed, the sweet melody tumbling from her lips, "my heart says 'yes, indeed' in me! Proceed with what you're leadin' me to!"

Castle smiled wide, pleased at her stunning amount of enthusiasm. It had seemingly come out of nowhere. Oh, he was so in love with her.

They joined one another in a duet, always minimizing the distance between them, more and more. "It's such an ancient pitch, but one I wouldn't switch," the two crooned in unison, lost in the loving gazes of one another.

Castle broke off alone, and Kate flashed a smile to match his. "...'cause there's no nicer witch than _you," _he purred, lowering his voice somewhat.

A blush heated Kate's face, and she immediately blocked everything out, simply allowing the words—_his _words—and the melody to carry her away. She shut the whole world out except for Castle, and as they finished out the song, she all at once found herself locked in his arms.

With a smile, she leaned in to whisper seductively into his ear, sending him shivering with desire. "C'mon, Ol' Blue Eyes." she purred, tugging him by the collar of his shirt. "I've got you under my skin now. Let's go home, have a glass of wine or two, and afterward, I want you to fly me to the moon."


End file.
